Top 5 Video Editing Speakers For Under $500

Carrying on our theme of top lists whilst nothing much is really happening in the industry, this time we look at budget audio monitoring. We welcome guest writer Conner Lambden from Conner Productions who has assembled a list of reasonably priced speakers you might like sitting in your edit suite.

Here at FCP.co we are 100% Genelec fans, nothing can touch their audio quality for their size and thus they make ideal monitors for edit suites. The one problem with Genelecs is their price, although they are active they don't come cheap, expect to pay over a $1000 (drumroll) each.

So what about budget monitoring solutions? Conner explores the options:

As a video editor, there is a whole plethora of speakers you can use for editing, ranging from $49 Logitech Speakers, all the way to several thousand dollar monitors. Usually, the higher end speakers work on producing the sound exactly as it is, whereas lower end speakers focus more on “sounding good.”

In some editing rooms, lots of money is spent not only on speakers, but also getting the acoustics of the room right, in order to sound perfect. The only problem? Most people don’t have such massive budgets. Here I've featured what I deem to be the best speakers you can get for less than $500 for video editing. Feel free to leave your feedback in the comments section.

Audioengine A5+ Price: $399

The Audio Engine A5+ features a strong, heavy bass. The main complaint about the A5+’s is that the Bass is overpowering the mids and highs, however overall it is an extremely good speaker.

Samson Resolv a8 Price: $349

The Samson Resolv are powerful and capable of a large range of sound. It has an 8-­‐inch Carbon Fiber Woofer and a 1.25 inch tweeter. It performs better at higher volumes. Overall, they’re great speakers for the price.

KRK Rokit 5 Price: $299

The Rokit 5’s are a smaller speaker than most of these, and it is the cheapest of these Monitors. It only has a 5” woofer and 45 watts of power. The main complaint is that problems with the bass start to emerge as the volume is increased. A great speaker, but we would recommend any of these other speakers over it.

Mackie MR8MK2 Price $499

The Mackie MR8 Mark 2’s have great clarity in the high and mids, with a punchy and warm bass. There are very few complaints, the main one being the high price tag. Highly recommended.

M-Audio BX8 D2 Price $499

These M-­‐Audio Speakers have an 8-­‐inch woofer, with a total of 130 watts. They have great detail in the upper mids, great at giving an overall full sound to the mix.

Keep in mind, that these are not the only speakers available to you! These are great speakers for their price, but make sure and buy the speaker that best fits your needs and your budget.